The foundation's page said "We want to provide a hand up to those families who have lost everything in the fires. To aid in their recovery effort, the Dollywood Foundation will provide $1,000 a month to all of those families who lost their homes in the fires for six months so that they can get back on their feet.”

Parton’s Dollywood theme park is located in Gatlinburg and, said Parton, the Smoky Mountain area is where she grew up.

The mayor of Gatlinburg said that officials are discussing re-opening the city later this week after wildfires forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.

Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner said Wednesday that the resort mountain city may re-open Friday so business owners can assess the damage and hopefully begin paying their employees again.

He said the evacuation orders must remain in place until then because there are still areas that haven't been searched and places where power lines are down.